Psychedelic Drug (MDMA) is Under Study to Aid for Autism

We people take care of diseases mostly associated with the internal organs like heart (cardiac malfunction), liver (hepatic disease), kidney (malfunction in dialysis) etc., except the neurological impairments.

How serious the autism is in present days:

A neuropsychiatric disorder, autism, has changed the scenario in a few years. As per CDC report of 2008, 1 out of 88 children were with autism, whereas in case of the year 2010, it was 1 out of 68 in U.S. After 2010 there is no CDC report, but a report says that 91% of autistic children were found dead by accidental drowning in between the year 2009 and 2011.

So, it is clear enough how devastating the condition will become, if no proper care is taken by the parents and families of the autistic children/ patients. It has been proven after nine years of long research that autism is purely genetic. It is an incurable disorder till now due to this reason.

How to aid people with autism:

Autism and its spectrum of disorders (ASD) may not be curable, but we can reduce its symptoms with:

# Early diagnosis

# Interventions (to make them verbal and social)

# Physical therapy (for motor skill disorder)

# ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis)

# HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy)

Early diagnosis on or before the age of three is very helpful to start the treatment, and also prevent effects of the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) symptoms before they worsen. Once it is diagnosed, then the treatment can be started using the interventions and therapies listed above.

What about the pharmacological intervention?

There is no pharmacological intervention listed above, so don’t we need any medication to aid for autism?

Autism/ ASD is a spectrum of disorders, but besides the benchmark disorders, it also consists of anxiety, depression, sleeplessness. Clinicians do predict medications for these along with the interventions.

Today we are going to discuss about a drug, MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) to aid for autism. MDMA is nothing but an oral as well as illegal drug, which is known to be psychedelic and stimulant. As stated in New York Daily News, MDMA is reported as a substance that not only boosts the confidence, but also helps in understanding the social activities. The question is, why are people focusing on this psychedelic drug?

The reason is very crystal clear. Researchers of Los Angeles are now going to reveal whether MDMA can be used to aid people with autism or not, by utilizing its self-confidence boosting and social anxiety reducing capability. Danforth said, “That’s really hard for people to wrap their minds around. It’s not another quack treatment for autism”

Study to reveal the truth of MDMA to aid for autism:

US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved the pilot study to reveal the truth. A number of subjects diagnosed with autism were selected to conduct this study. The primary criteria was, subjects must be over the age of 21 with college experience of 2 years at least. The approved subjects were then divided in two groups. One group was selected to receive MDMA with 8 members and another group of 4 members to receive placebo.

mdma_psychedelic drug

Image courtesy: http://www.addictionsearch.com

The result is not stated here as she told, “We’re not looking to affect any of the course or traits of autism”. Not only that, but the authors of the journal Progress inNeuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry says that MDMA can be effective, but daily dosage is needed to get long lasting benefits. MDMA is still under study, and it is far away from getting prescribed as a pharmacological active substance to aid for autism.

Conclusion:

It can be seen that medical science to aid autism is updating, but we need to continue our interventions and therapies (listed above) to aid autism in the present days.